This year, the Cook County Clerk’s Office will be accepting forfeiture tax sale mailing notice requests starting July 5, 2023, through August 31, 2023. The Clerk's office is requesting that all potential tax buyers review the Forfeiture Tax Sale Purchase Information Packet prior to submitting any request.
If a parcel is offered for sale at the annual tax sale and no one bids on the parcel, the taxes are “forfeited” to the State of Illinois. §21-225. A party who wishes to purchase the forfeited taxes after the annual tax sale may apply to the County Clerk to do so. The County Clerk sends a notice to the party in whose name the taxes are assessed, advising that a party has applied to buy the taxes. The County Clerk also computes the amounts needed to purchase the forfeited taxes (including accrued penalties and costs). The tax purchaser must pay the entire amount of taxes and penalties outstanding (together with sale costs). The tax purchaser also must pay all unpaid taxes and penalties for prior years in order to complete the sale. The penalty rate is 12% per six months or fraction thereof.
We represent tax buyers in all kinds of real estate tax sales throughout Illinois. For more information about tax sales, click here. If you have questions about forfeiture tax sales or researching properties prior to applying, please contact our office. Thank you.
